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Bron
Bron The king is the land, and the land is the king. We are Damned, and so too is our kingdom damned. Only through the blessed Grail that cursed us may we yet find peace. Legends of the Holy Grail have existed in one form or another for more than a thousand years. Before Christian doctrine presented the tale of Christ’s sacred cup, Welsh stories spoke of vessels that restored the dead to life, and Norse tales depicted enchanted cauldrons that produced endless bounty. Stories of magical cauldrons, chalices and cups with similar life-giving properties can be found in the mythologies of the Celts, the ancient Greeks and even as far abroad as the Chinese. In medieval Europe, epic romances were written about brave, worthy knights who sought the religious enlightenment of the Grail. Through the shadows of these tales came the Bron, an ancient bloodline of indeterminate origin. The Bron were once mighty kings, lords of the night who ruled the British Isles with an iron fist. Somewhere in the murky depths of history, obscured by time and the torpid dreams of elders, one member called down a terrible curse on his line for daring to seek the divine power of the Holy Grail for himself. Modern Bron disagree vehemently on whether this progenitor drank from the Cup of Christ or whether the true nature of the Grail lay further back in time, with Bran the Blessed and the enchanted cauldron that returned the dead to life, but the repercussions of the curse reverberate into this very night. The Bron are a bloodline in exile, forever unable to attain the rulership that is their destiny. The curse laid on the bloodline’s founder causes the land itself to rise up against any Bron who attempts to claim domain. No matter whether the domain is in the heart of the city or the depths of the wilderness, the land will not accept a Bron as its master. For any Ventrue, being unable to rule securely within one’s own domain is a terrifying and horrifi c prospect, but to the Bron, who still remember the glories of their ancient kingdoms, it is quite possibly a fate worse than Final Death. Forced to skulk on the edges of Kindred society with no domains to call their own, Bron often choose nomadic Requiems rather than bending knee to elders and suffering like servants in others’ realms. These wandering “Fisher Kings” are a part of the bloodline’s sacred Grail Quest, undertaken in the late Middle Ages and continuing to this night. The Bron reason that the Grail cursed their founder, and so, if it is found again by a worthy Kindred, it can be used to lift the curse and allow the Bron to rule once again. That this was this same monumental hubris that brought down the curse on the line in the fi rst place has not gone unnoticed by more cynical Bron. With such a clear and obvious (if somewhat unrealistic) goal before them, one would think the Bron would present a focused and unified front to the rest of Kindred society. Sadly, as is often the case among vampires, the Bron are as split by ideological disputes as any other group of Kindred. The main point of division among members of the bloodline is the very nature of the thing they seek: the Holy Grail itself. One camp, aligned with the Lancea Sanctum, states unequivocally that the bloodline’s founder was cursed for sipping from the Cup of Christ, the Holy Grail, as it has been portrayed for nearly a thousand years. Another group, tied strongly to the Circle of the Crone, insists just as adamantly that the curse laid upon their line is far older than the kine’s Messiah, and that the “Grail” was actually one of the magical cauldrons of Welsh and Celtic myth, which had the power to restore the dead to life and is believed to be an inspiration for the earliest Christianized Grail stories and a decidedly preclassical Kindred creation myth. Still other members of the bloodline espouse more radical theories, claiming that the Grail is actually a metaphor for an enchanted stone that fell from the heavens or even the mortal bloodline of Christ. Whatever the truth of the Bron’s curse is, it remains clouded by the Fog of Eternity and the simple lack of records from time past. With no clear direction or focus, the Bron continue to wander, modern Percivals pursuing a quest that has brought down kingdoms and consumed lives for two millennia or more. The Bron are a tragic legend of the Kindred: Princes without domain, Damned to eternal pauperism until they satisfy a quest that may have no solution. Parent Clan: Ventrue Nickname: Fisher Kings Covenant The majority of Bron choose between the Circle of the Crone and the Lancea Sanctum. Those Bron who fall in with the Sanctifi ed espouse the Christianized doctrine of the Grail, albeit fi ltered through the dogma of Longinus. According to the Sanctified Bron, the Cup of Christ is both the antithesis of, and the counterpart to, the Spear of Longinus. In a sub-sect of this liturgical theory, there is a gender difference, too — the Spear is the male and the Grail is the female. While the Spear represents the Kindred’s ordained role as executors of God’s vengeance, the Grail is God’s gift to those of the Damned who serve Him most loyally. The Fisher Kings of the Lancea Sanctum believe that God grants a vision of the Holy Grail to those Kindred with whom He is well pleased as a signal of His forgiveness and mercy. To truly be worthy of achieving the Grail Quest, the Sanctified Fisher Kings must prove themselves as worthy as Sir Galahad. The difference, of course, is that while Christian knights were expected to be chaste, pious and humble if they were to prove worthy of attaining the Grail, Kindred are expected to be exemplars of God’s terrible vengeance against those who stray from the path. Sanctified Bron are often nomadic scholars, crisscrossing the globe in search of any sign of the Grail’s passage while leaving a bloody trail of gruesomely slain sinners in their wake. The Bron who ally themselves with the Circle of the Crone take a different tack in their beliefs regarding the Holy Grail. The Grail, these Bron say, is not the Cup of Christ at all, but rather the cauldron described in ancient Celtic and Welsh mythic cycles, such as the Mabinogion. The early Christians, and the Lancea Sanctum after them, co-opted legends of the magical cauldron that could raise the dead, just as many pagan holidays and myths were Christianized to strengthen the early Church. Members of the Circle of the Crone branch of the bloodline search for the enchanted cauldrons of Cerridwen and other mythic figures, believing that, with the proper ritual, the Bron can repair the flawed magic that blights them with undeath and restore themselves to true mortality. Other covenants claim far fewer Bron vampires. Among the Invictus, the Bron are nearly unknown, as the nature of their curse places them at a bit of a detriment among the power politics of the First Estate. The few Bron who join the Invictus tend to end up in subordinate roles such as Sheriff or Hound, dwelling in the Prince’s personal domain at her sufferance rather than claiming territory of their own. If the curse on their line ever ends, though, it seems certain that many Bron would flock to the Invictus’ banner to re-assert the rightful leadership the bloodline has been denied. The Carthian Movement offers little to attract the Bron. The Carthians tend to be more interested in temporal politics than spiritual matters, and they seldom have access to unique occult lore that might aid in the Bron’s quest for the Grail. “Heretic” Bron, who espouse radical new theories about the nature of the Grail, sometimes find a home in the Movement but usually out of a shared sense of ostracism than any commonality of ideology and beliefs. Although many Bron harbor a quiet optimism regarding the Ordo Dracul, few Fisher Kings actually enter the Order. Members of both factions claim this is because the Fisher Kings focus almost exclusively on the Grail, which can become an obstacle on their road to the Dragons’ brand of enlightenment. On the other hand, elders of the bloodline hear tales of the potent Blood masteries the Ordo Dracul possesses, and they cannot help but wonder. Appearance Bron vary widely in appearance, depending on their approach to the Grail Quest. Elders of the line tend to be conservative in their dress, usually favoring dark suits with severe lines. Truly ancient members of the bloodline may still dress as the questing knights of old, at least within the privacy of their own havens. Many Bron were once members of secret societies sometimes connected with the Grail, such as the Templars or their descendants, the Freemasons; these vampires often wear the accoutrements of those orders. Physically speaking, Bron have no common, unifying features. Due to the bloodline’s origins in the British Isles, most elders are of Celtic, Welsh or Anglo-Saxon descent, but, in modern nights, the bloodline spans all ethnicities and body types. Haven Many Bron are nomads, wandering from domain to domain to follow the trail of the Holy Grail and keep the effects of their curse at bay. Such nomads find temporary havens wherever they can, or travel in modified vehicles that serve as traveling havens. More sedentary Bron lair wherever they can fi nd a place to sleep the day away, often on the fringes of the city or in a domain unclaimed by local Kindred. The rare, lucky Bron who have a local patron tend to make their havens in libraries and museums, places where tidbits of Grail lore might fall into their hands. Background In modern nights, most Bron choose their childer from the ranks of scholars and academics. Ideally, a Bron chooses a childe who specializes in the lore of the Grail (whether Christian or pagan, as the case may be), but such scholars have become progressively more rare in recent years. Many Bron Embrace scholars who focus generally on early Christian theology, Celtic history and myth or medieval European history, and continue the Grail-specific instruction during the first few years of the fledgling’s Requiem. Some elder Bron, especially among the Sanctified, prefer to Embrace soldiers, police officers or political activists, believing them to be the knights of the modern world. These traditionalists carefully study their prospective childer to ensure that they hold to the appropriate virtues. Acolyte Fisher Kings, on the other hand, often Embrace those whose interest in the Grail is more mystical than historical. Occultists, New Age gurus and, in particular, educated devout pagans form the bulk of the bloodline’s representation in the Circle of the Crone. As the Celts believed in the perfection of the warrior ideal, from time to time Bron Acolytes also Embrace mortals with exceptional physical prowess. Unlike Sanctified Fisher Kings, pagan Bron focus more on raw, physical potential than knightly virtues. Boxers, outdoorsmen and survivalists are among the “warriors” sometimes Embraced by Fisher King Acolytes. Because the pagan myths of magical cauldrons are closely tied to the British Isles, most Bron Acolytes hail from that region, and many still dwell there. Character Creation Young Bron very often favor Mental Attributes and Skills. The Grail Quest in modern nights has become one of research and study, not riding across the countryside with sword and lance. Older Bron still show a preference for Physical Attributes and Skills, but even newly Embraced Fisher Kings usually prize their Physical abilities. Social Attributes and Skills are usually of the least importance — artifacts and manuscripts don’t care how well-mannered you are, and there’s seldom anyone to talk to in the ancient ruins Bron sometimes explore in their search. Beyond the basics of Attribute prioritization, Bron frequently diverge based on their covenant and preferred method of pursuing their quest. Sanctified Bron usually have Merits like Languages: Latin, Status: Lancea Sanctum and Contacts in the academic world. Fisher Kings in the Circle of the Crone, on the other hand, might speak multiple ancient languages, especially various forms of Gaelic, Welsh and Old English, with Allies and Contacts across the occult world. Scholarly Bron usually devote effort to Skills like Academics, Computer and Investigation, with a smattering of Politics and Persuasion to help them gain access to the research materials they need. Merits like Fame or Status in the academic world help them gain after-hours access to the most exclusive research libraries in the world, but these Merits come with perils of their own in the form of recognition outside those circles. Haven, Herd and Resources ensure that the Bron’s Requiem is disturbed as little as possible by the vagaries of night-to-night unlife. Fisher Kings who actively pursue the Grail likely have dots in Academics, but complement it with Survival, Firearms, Larceny and Intimidation to better survive their wanderings. Merits such as Resources, Herd and Retainer are especially important to questing Bron, and many seek out Gangrel Mentors from whom to learn Protean. Bloodline Disciplines Animalism , Crochan , Dominate , Resilience Weakness: In both Christian and pre-Christian Grail legends, the motif of the symbiotic link between the health of the land and the health of its ruler is common. In some legends, the health and prosperity of the land waxes and wanes with the health of the king, but in others, the land itself rebels against a ruler too weak or unhealthy to rule. When the founder of the bloodline was Damned by the Grail, this mystical connection was twisted and corrupted by the curse of undeath. Whenever a Fisher King claims a domain, her own cursed nature causes the land to reject her as a fit ruler. Within a few nights of claiming her domain, the Bron finds that tasks that should be relatively simple become arduous and complicated. When she wishes to feed, she encounters mortals only in large groups in brightly lit areas. When she tries to project her influence on the kine within her domain, she finds them listless and unresponsive. When she tries to find her way back to her haven before dawn, she loses all sense of direction and becomes lost in a maze of streets that should be familiar. The Bron experiences one of the worst nightmares of any Kindred: she is weak and vulnerable even within the heart of her own domain. The true nature of the Bron’s unique weakness is not fully understood — the Sanctified claim it is God’s way of forcing the Bron to strike out on their own and fulfill His commandments, while some Acolytes believe that the Bron’s stewardship blights the spirit of the land itself, creating a wound deeper than the Kindred can see. In rules terms, whenever the Bron attempts any Physical or Social action within the bounds of his own domain that involves the domain or its mortal inhabitants in a significant fashion, the 10 again rule does not apply to his roll. In addition, any 1’s that come up on the roll are subtracted from the successes achieved. Examples include feeding, canvassing a neighborhood for information or climbing a wall in an alley. This weakness does not affect combat taking place within the Bron’s domain or the Fisher King’s interactions with other vampires or supernatural creatures. Naturally, this weakness also affects certain Merits, such as Allies, Contacts, Herd, Retainers and possibly even Haven (primarily Location, but potentially Security), though these are not the only Merits subject to the Bron weakness The exact manner in which the Bron claims his domain does not matter. It might be territory granted by the Prince through subinfeudation, domain seized by the Bron’s own strength and cunning or even his own haven. As long as the Bron claims the area — whether in word or action — and the local Kindred accept his claim, the curse takes effect. Some Bron deliberately avoid claiming territory of their own, but this carries its own perils. A wise or lucky Bron might find a powerful patron who requires services he can offer in exchange for feeding rights in the patron’s territory, for example, but the natural paranoia of all vampires means this arrangement seldom lasts long. Organization The deep schism that divides the Bron precludes them from having much internal organization. Neither the Circle of the Crone nor the Lancea Sanctum boasts a large enough Bron population to support any kind of bloodline infrastructure. Given the nomadic Requiems of most Fisher Kings, even finding all of them would be an impossible task, let alone organizing them. Across most of the globe, the closest thing the Bron have to an organization is the custom that those members of the bloodline actively engaged in the Grail Quest are given deference and aid by those who are not pursuing the Grail. In the past, this tradition cut across covenant lines, but the rift between the Circle of the Crone and the Lancea Sanctum has widened considerably over the past few centuries. Some Fisher Kings might still honor this tradition for a member of “the other side,” but a Bron Acolyte who asks a Sanctifi ed for shelter while pursuing a rumor about Cerridwen’s magic cauldron takes her safety into her own hands, and vice versa. Concepts Enlightened occultist, grail historian, independent archaeologist, itinerant monk, Masonic conspiracy theorist, modern Celt, neo-pagan coven leader, nomadic Marchog, radical feminist, self-styled Galahad, skulker on the fringe of society History Like much of Kindred lore, the history of the Bron varies greatly depending upon the teller. While each individual Fisher King imparts his own take on the bloodline’s foundation, the greatest disparity is the schism between Sanctified and Bron Acolytes. Throughout the centuries, the ideological clash between these two factions has ranged from scholarly, if impassioned, debate to outright physical conflict. Modern times see the conflict vary from domain to domain, ranging to either extreme. Nomadic Bron tend to be extremely cautious when meeting fellow bloodline members in new territories, at least until they understand the state of the local “scholarly debate.” The Christian Grail After the Crucifixion and the cursing of Longinus, many of Christ’s mortal followers fl ed Judea in fear for their lives. The kine scattered across Europe, many bearing sacred relics of their Messiah’s last days on earth. The greatest of these relics, the Holy Grail itself, was brought to England by Joseph of Arimithea and his brother-in-law, Bron. Along with their families, these two men became the guardians of the Grail, holding it in trust for the day a worthy would come to receive the blessing of enlightenment and healing the Grail offered. Joseph was dubbed the Grail King, since he had borne the Grail on the journey from Judea to Britannia, while Bron was named the Fisher King for the fish that was the symbol of God’s bounty and of the early Church. Kindred scholars struggle to find an accurate date for Bron’s Embrace, but even the kine’s documents from that era are sketchy at best. Few Kindred writings from the early decades of the Common Era survived the fall of the Camarilla, and those writings that did are seldom concerned with the genealogies of obscure bloodlines. The best estimate Sanctified theologians can make is that the Fisher King took in a nocturnal pilgrim one dark night somewhere between AD 50 and 75, and the reward for Bron’s hospitality was to be brought into the fold of the Damned. Naturally, scholars of the Lancea Sanctum claim this Kindred pilgrim was one of their own, but few clues exist as to the identity of the Fisher King’s sire. To the pious keeper of the Cup of Christ, the Requiem was a blasphemy. The Fisher King refused to accept the Damnation that had been laid on him, and, against his brother-in-law’s counsel, Bron ascended the Grail Tower, lifted the sacred chalice to his lips and drank deeply of the blood of Christ. The Grail had the power to cure any ill and undo any wound, no matter how grievous, and Bron fully expected to be restored to life by the divine blood. He was sorely disappointed. The following text, discovered by Sanctifi ed archaeologists in AD 1765 and purportedly written by Bron himself, describes the result of the Fisher King’s rash act. The Bloody Path of Bran the Blessed Five hundred years before the birth of Christ, the legendary hero Bran the Blessed ruled a kingdom in what is now Wales. Bran was a giant of a man, “too large for ordinary houses,” according to the stories set forth in the Mabinogion. Despite his epithet, Bran was a bloody ruler, fierce and implacable in battle. His name, which meant “Raven,” was said to have been given to him because he provided a feast for the carrion-birds whenever he went into battle. According to the Bron historians of the Circle of the Crone, the history of their bloodline begins during the fi erce war between Bran’s people and the Irish king Matholwch. Bran’s sister, Branwen, was Matholwch’s wife, though he treated her as little more than a slave. When Bran learned of his sister’s treatment at her husband’s hands, the Welsh ruler fl ew into one of his terrible rages, gathered his army and sailed across the Irish Sea to avenge the slight on his family’s honor. Ancient tales say that Matholwch was terrified by what appeared to be a forest coming over the sea, so numerous were Bran’s warships. When the Irish king saw Bran himself wading across the sea in the lead, Matholwch wisely sued for peace before he and his kingdom were destroyed. As part of the conces sions of the peace agreement, Matholwch built a great palace large enough for Bran to dwell in and passed the rule of the Irish kingdom on to his son Gwern. The conflict might have ended there, but several of Matholwch’s lords refused to bow before the invaders and engineered a plan to murder Bran and his Welsh soldiers. The Irish lords hid themselves and many of their soldiers inside sacks of fl our bound for the kitchens of Bran the Blessed’s castle. Thus able to sneak past the hundreds of Welsh soldiers who guarded the castle, the Irish soldiers waited until nightfall to cut themselves free, and would have murdered everyone in the castle, but they were discovered by Bran’s cousin, Efnisien, who heard the fl our sacks whispering to each other in the dark. Guessing the treachery at hand, Efnisien threw the sacks into the fire, roasting the Irish soldiers alive. Efnisien himself took this tale to Bran, and the giant king declared the peace forfeit and marshaled his forces to attack Matholwch. Knowing that he could never defeat the more-numerous armies of Bran the Blessed, Matholwch had made a terrible bargain with an ancient witch who dwelt on a rocky island in the Irish Sea. The hag, whom some say was one of the Good Folk and some say was something less describable, gave Matholwch two items: a spear made from a strange, dark metal, said to be able to pierce the armor of the gods themselves, and an enchanted cauldron filled with blood that boiled even when no fire burned beneath it. Any dead man stewed in that pot would be returned to life to fight on the side of the Irish. The price Matholwch paid for this cauldron is unknown. The subsequent battle raged for many weeks, and the Welsh were nearly wiped out. The Irish suffered no casualties, and every Welsh casualty only served to swell the Irish ranks. With his bloody cauldron and his ensorcelled spear, Matholwch seemed invincible. After almost two solid months of fighting, Bran’s spies learned of Matholwch’s cauldron and its terrible restorative powers. Bran consulted with his priests and magicians, and, after long days of fasting and prayer, they hatched a plan to destroy the cauldron. The next dawn, Bran led his soldiers into battle personally, and met Matholwch on the field. The two kings battled savagely from sunrise to sunset until, just as the last rays of the sun vanished over the horizon, Bran’s sword clove Matholwch’s helmet and bit deep into the Irish king’s skull. At the same instant, Matholwch’s spear pierced Bran’s side, deeply wounding the giant. Matholwch fell dead, and Bran, sorely hurt but not yet dead, collapsed atop his foe, feigning death. Matholwch’s lieutenants were fooled, and, gloating that Bran the Blessed would fi ght for Ireland by the next dawn, they dragged him off and cast him, still living, into the cauldron. Immediately, the Irish knew they had been tricked. The ever-boiling blood went still and cold in the space of a heartbeat, the spell of resurrection shattered by the presence of Bran’s living soul. With a thunderous crack, the cauldron split in two, and Bran emerged, bathed in blood and forever changed. The cauldron’s sorceries, rather than restoring the dead to life, had brought undeath to the living. Bran emerged from his bloody baptism a Damned creature of the night, lusting for the blood of the living. His body rejuvenated and his hurts healed (all save the wound from Matholwch’s enchanted spear), Bran fell upon the Irish soldiers within Matholwch’s castle and slew them all. The Welsh army, inspired by the sight of their king risen anew, rallied and drove the remaining Irish into the sea. With the Irish soldiers defeated, Bran the Blessed took control of Matholwch’s kingdom, solidifying his rule over the mortals. In life, Bran had been a great king, but in his Requiem, he lacked the sacred connection to the land that made a true king. Under the rule of the vampire king, the land withered and sickened. Crops died, cattle grew sick and produced no milk and the people cried out to the gods for justice. Bran refused to see this, and even went so far as to Embrace childer and grant them domains throughout his kingdom, spreading the blight even farther. The mortal lords who served Bran finally took the initiative to deal with their undead king. While the sun was high one midsummer’s day, they entered Bran’s sleeping chambers on the premise of bringing tribute to the king and struck off his head with an axe. According to the histories of the Bron Acolytes, after the beheading, Bran’s eyes opened, and the king spoke with “the voice of the grave.” He told his lords to burn his body but to carry his head back to Wales and bury the skull facing south, to protect his home against invaders. Then he spoke to his childer, and though they were scattered across his kingdom, each one is said to have heard the voice in their dreams that day. Bran laid a geas on his childer, commanding them through the power of the Blood to renounce their thrones and leave their lands forever. They belonged to the dead, and the dead did not rule the living. The childer were offered one chance to redeem themselves and reclaim their thrones: fi nd the witch who crafted Matholwch’s cauldron or learn the secret location of another cauldron made by the same hag. Only by learning the secrets of the cauldron can they find the path back to true life and reclaim their blessed kingship. Society and Culture For the most part, the Bron lead isolated, nomadic Requiems. They come into contact with other Kindred infrequently, and with others of their own line even less often. When a group of Bron does congregate into a coterie, it is almost always to pursue some key facet of the Grail Quest. Even Bron who do not travel tend to dwell apart from their brethren, out of necessity (often, the only territory a Bron dares to claim is the Barrens, as even their unique curse cannot make the befouled places of the city much worse) or desire (sedentary Bron are usually bookish scholars who dislike interruption). In the British Isles, where this bloodline is strongest, the Bron have slightly more structure to the manner in which the bloodline operates. The British Fisher Kings’ organization is common to the Lancea Sanctum and the Circle of the Crone alike, a curious fact that suggests that such organization may predate the schism within the bloodline. Groups of scholarly Bron, called Ysgolorion, secret themselves within Britain’s most prestigious universities and libraries, often swallowing their pride and serving as aides or Seneschals to the local Princes, as the protection of domain is denied to the Bron. These Ysgolorion (singular Ysgolor) scour the libraries of the kine and the secret journals of elder Kindred, seeking clues as to the Grail’s nature and resting place. The Ysgolorion pass the information they glean on to the Marchogion, or wandering knights, who engage in the active fieldwork of investigation. Although the Marchogion often speak grandly of their Grail Quests, very few of them are actually directly engaged in a search for the Grail. Too much information has been lost, and the Grail has been too well hidden to make such a search practical. Instead, most of a Marchog’s time is spent looking for artifacts and tomes, clues that might point to other clues that may eventually point to the Grail. Depending upon their age and prestige, Marchogion pass through Britain anywhere from once a year to once a decade. Younger, inexperienced Marchogion return more frequently, as they often aren’t as capable as their elders, and the Ysgolorion don’t wish to lose years worth of accumulated discoveries because a careless young coterie overestimated its abilities. Older Marchogion undertake longer pilgrimages and more important quests. Beyond this partnership of convenience, the Bron observe no higher authority. In many instances, Marchogion and Ysgolorion are as likely to carry on protracted, decades-long feuds as they are to exchange information or advance the progress of the Grail Quest. Because of the deep divide between the branches of this bloodline, most Fisher Kings think of themselves as members of their covenant fi rst and members of their bloodline second. Sanctified Bron celebrate their own versions of Good Friday and Easter, venerating the role of the Grail more than the role of Christ (and, according to some, more than the role of Longinus himself, a fact that has led Inquisitors to the havens of the Bron on more than one occasion). Bron Acolytes sometimes focus on the worship of ancient gods and goddesses connected with magical, life-giving cauldrons: Bran is one such deity, as is the Celtic goddess Cerridwen. In places where Bron Acolytes gather in numbers, or even the rare domains that have Bron Princes, a ghoulish rite may occur on the winter solstice every 10th year. A Kindred from within the domain — preferably one who has earned recognition for protecting the Masquerade or defending Kindred society from some external threat — is selected and brought before the assembled Kindred at Elysium. From dusk until just before dawn, Kindred of the domain honor the hero, praising him and granting every luxury they have to offer. Revelers supply vessels of any exotic vintage he desires, along with whatever blood-borne intoxicants the hero might wish, and even the hero’s longstanding rivals may publicly declare any feuds or grudges to be things of the past. Just before sunrise, the throng escorts the hero to the southernmost border of the domain, where the Prince drives a spear of rowan-wood into the hero’s side. The hero’s head is removed with a single stroke of a sharp blade (to need multiple strokes is considered a terrible omen), then buried facing southward before the body crumbles to ash. According to the Acolytes, so long as the head remains undisturbed, it will protect their domain from outside attack, just as Bran’s head protected Britain. Legends The Bron have been the subject of many tales, myths and rumors throughout their history. Some of these stories have been tales of the quest for the Grail, others have been rumors hinting at dark secrets possessed by the bloodline or the perceived truth of their origins. The Canticle of the Sepulchre Knight The Canticle of the Sepulchre Knight covers a period from AD 1230 until 1350, approximately. In total, this work comprises seven volumes in its original form, each recounting one of the pilgrimages of Sir Godfrey la Rochenoire, a Sanctified Bron, in search of the Grail. Of particular note is Chanson IV, which recounts what may be Sir Godfrey’s closest brush with the Grail during his century of questing. In AD 1267, Sir Godfrey and his coterie set forth from Avignon, bound for Wales. While crossing the English Channel, their ship was banked in by a thick fog that even the senses of Sir Godfrey’s Mekhet companion, Jean-Pierre du Bois, could not penetrate. Their ship languished on a windless sea the entire night, and, just when it seemed dawn would break on the horizon and doom them all, the ship ran aground on a white, sandy beach. A castle loomed out of the fog above them, and the Kindred fl ed to take refuge from the sun within the castle’s walls. The lord of the castle introduced himself as Alain le Gros, and he seemed to know the vampires for what they were, for he led them to a dark, windowless chamber below ground and bade them rest for the day. At dusk, Sir Godfrey and his coterie followed their host to the castle’s chapel, where the knight experienced a most peculiar vision. An exquisitely carved crucifi of marble hung above the altar, with an equally intricate statue of Longinus piercing Christ’s side with the Holy Lance. Blood wept from the statue’s wound and fell into a great chalice of gold and jewels. The chalice was set upon a stone altar, over which the blood had flowed in strange patterns, which Sir Godfrey and his companions likened to pagan icons. Three women dressed in the habits of nuns attended the Grail: one young and comely, one of middling age and plain appearance and one elderly and repulsive. Sir Godfrey demanded to know the meaning of what he perceived as a pagan spectacle surrounding the Holy Grail, but Alain le Gros only smiled sadly and made no reply. Again, Sir Godfrey asked his question, and yet once more and again he received no answer. Thus insulted thrice over, Sir Godfrey was overcome by his wrath, and made as if to strike le Gros in his frenzy. The Grail women, seeing violence about to be done in the holiest of chapels, tore their hair and wailed. A baleful light, pale as the moon but harsher than the sun’s forgotten rays, poured in through the stained glass windows and rendered Sir Godfrey and his coterie blind and insensate. When the Sanctified knights returned to themselves, they found themselves lying in state in their makeshift haven aboard the vessel that had carried them from the shores of Normandy. The last rays of the setting sun had vanished over the horizon, and their sailors informed them that they would soon be landing on the English shore. Of the strange fog that had beset their ship for an entire night, the sailors professed no recollection. And yet, this was no mad dream shared by Kindred made torpid by the sun’s rays, for when Sir Godfrey arose that evening, he found his right hand severed cleanly at the wrist, as if by the sharpest blade on God’s earth. It is recorded in other historical documents of the time that this wound never healed and that Sir Godfrey bore the mark of his impiety and failure until, according to other tales, he met Final Death in Paris in AD 1384. Secrets and Mysteries The Bron are a secretive bloodline, and despite the legends that surround its members, few outside the line know much about them for certain. The history and organization presented in this section can be used as a source of rumors or stories told about the Bron. One or more of these truths might be the gospel truth in your chronicle. As always, Storytellers, use what you like and modify or throw out the rest. One Truth: The Bron are reclusive enough that few Kindred have ever met one, let alone two. In some domains, the very idea of Bron belonging to both the Lancea Sanctum and the Circle of the Crone is laughable. Depending upon who tells the tale, any rumor of Bron belonging to another covenant is either a case of mistaken identity caused by foolish pagans worshipping a saucepan or Christianized oppressors stealing the true faith of the people for their own purposes. No Truth: In modern nights, radical new theories about the nature of the Holy Grail have been put forward by folklorists and theologians. In an era when The Da Vinci Code has become a pop-culture icon (“It really makes you think”), it’s no wonder many Kindred, especially neonates and young ancillae, whisper that the Bron are looking in the wrong place for their Holy Grail. In fact, these Kindred say, the bloodline’s founder did stumble upon the truth sometime during the 1500s and went mad with grief when he learned he had been searching for a bundle of genealogical documents and ancient scrolls proving that Mary Magdalene was Christ’s wife and the mother of his child. In despair, the Bron told none of his childer (or, in some versions of the story, destroys the Grail documents to hide his failure) of his discovery and greeted the next sunrise. Belial’s Bron: According to this legend, the Bron are indeed seeking the Holy Grail — and probably other religious relics as well — not to lift their curse or restore their humanity, but to destroy them. Once, in the distant past, perhaps the Fisher Kings’ motives were pure, but during the Middle Ages the bloodline fell in with the Poor Knights of the Temple of Solomon, better known as the Knights Templar. The Templars were acknowledged as Europe’s foremost Grail scholars at the time, and it was even rumored that they knew the location of the Cup of Christ. They were wealthy and powerful, but that wealth and power corrupted the order, and they fell into idolatry and Devil-worship. The Church discovered the Templars’ blasphemies and executed almost the entire order. The Lancea Sanctum did much the same to the Bron members of the order. Despite these purges, a few mortal and Kindred Templars escaped and began a long, arduous search for the lost knowledge of the Templars, including the location of the Grail, the Spear of Destiny and other sacred relics. In some versions of this tale, the Bron are the secret founders of Belial’s Brood, while in other versions the Bron are merely the Brood’s allies. Crochan In both Christian and pagan myth, the Grail possesses miraculous powers of healing. According to some legends, those who drink from the Grail retain this healing gift even after they attain the Grail Quest. The Bron embody this myth through their Discipline of Crochan, from the Welsh word for “cauldron,” which allows them to harness and manipulate the power of Vitae to regenerate their undead flesh. This Discipline is not without its dark side, though. Just as the Bron are Damned, Crochan is a cursed version of the Grail’s healing power that can both give life and take it away with equal facility. Crochan is essentially an enhancement of a vampire’s innate ability to heal wounds through the power of Vitae. Therefore, a Bron may not spend Vitae to heal wounds in the same turn he uses a Crochan power, even if his Blood Potency allows him to spend more than one Vitae per turn. This restriction applies only to the Crochan user; if he targets another Kindred with one of the powers of Crochan, that vampire may spend Vitae for healing in the same turn. Likewise, this Discipline affects only creatures who possess the ability to use Vitae to heal their wounds. Crochan does not affect other supernatural creatures’ powers of mystical healing, such as a werewolf’s natural regeneration. In most cases, this means that Kindred and ghouls are the only valid targets, but the World of Darkness is a vast and mysterious place, and strange creatures lurking in the shadows may well be capable of harnessing the power of the Blood. Despite the many drastic differences between the Sanctified Bron and the Acolyte Fisher Kings, Crochan is common to both branches of the bloodline, differing in minor, cosmetic applications only. The Sanctified often accompany the use of Crochan with fervent prayers and the laying on of hands, while the Acolytes prefer elaborate chants in Welsh or Manx Gaelic and savage bloodletting rituals. Many Bron Acolytes “sacrifice” the Vitae required to power this Discipline by slicing their wrists, breast or even throat, and letting the blood spill onto the ground. (Mechanically, this is no different than spending a Vitae by simple act of will; the Bron suffers no additional damage or blood loss, and the time required to activate the Discipline does not increase.) Crochan is notably less common among the rare few Invictus and Carthian Bron. Some Invictus find the very idea of playing with the power of the Blood to be foolishness worthy of an especially reckless Dragon, while some Kindred of the Carthian Movement view Crochan’s ability to manipulate the Vitae of others to be a gross violation of another Kindred’s personal rights. The Dragons, for their part, note the similarities between Crochan and the philosophy behind the Coils of the Dragon, and ponder over many troubling questions in their unbeating hearts. • Swift Flows the Blood All Kindred have an innate ability to heal wounds infl icted on their undead bodies through the power of Vitae, but this healing takes time for all but the most minor hurts. The most basic level of Crochan allows the Bron to speed this ability, though she must take care that she does not starve herself into frenzy or torpor in her haste. Cost: 1 Vitae Dice Pool: Intelligence + Medicine + Crochan Action: Instant Roll Results Dramatic Failure: The character’s blood resists her efforts to quicken its fl ow, and in fact the blood becomes more sluggish and unresponsive. For the remainder of the scene, during any turn in which the character wishes to spend Vitae to heal her wounds, she must spend an extra Vitae to shock her sluggish system into responding. Only one extra Vitae must be spent per turn, regardless how much Vitae the Kindred uses that turn for healing. Failure: The character gains no additional ability to channel Vitae toward healing. She may try again in subsequent turns, however. Success: For each success on the activation roll, the character may add one to her effective Blood Potency for purposes of determining how much Vitae she may spend per turn, but only for purposes of healing injuries. The character may not activate Disciplines, augment Physical dice pools or use her increased rate of Vitae expenditure for any other purpose. The character’s maximum Vitae per turn as granted by her actual Blood Potency is not restricted in this manner (assuming, of course, that she has the ability to spend enough Vitae to activate this power and perform some other action in the same turn). Other traits derived from Blood Potency, such as the character’s maximum Vitae, feeding restrictions and Attribute maximums, are unaffected. This power cannot increase the character’s “virtual Blood Potency” above 10. For example, Cecilia has a Blood Potency of 4, allowing her to spend two Vitae per turn. She activates Swift Flows the Blood, and her player rolls four successes. This gives her a “virtual Blood Potency” of 8, increasing the total number of Vitae she may spend this turn to seven. Only five Vitae can be spent on healing wounds — her player spent one Vitae to activate the power, and the final Vitae may be spent as Cecilia’s player wishes within the normal rules. Exceptional Success: The extra successes are their own reward in this case. If the roll succeeds, but the virtual Blood Potency increase does not increase the character’s maximum Vitae per turn (for example, if a player whose character has a Blood Potency of 2 gains only a single success), the power of the Discipline allows the character to spend one additional Vitae on healing. This power is an exception to the rule that a character may not spend Vitae to heal in the same turn that she uses a Crochan power. Suggested Modifiers Modifier Situation +2 The Bron pours her own Vitae into a chalice or cauldron and drinks the Blood while activating the power. –1 The Bron has used this power since the previous sunset (cumulative). –2 The Bron has used this power within the past hour (cumulative). •• Blight of the Fisher King According to early Grail mythology, the Fisher King was one of the keepers of the Holy Grail. Cursed by a festering wound in his side, the Fisher King could not be healed until a worthy Grail-seeker asked the proper question and attained the Grail. Through the use of this power, the Bron agitates another Kindred’s wound so that it heals only with a great deal of effort. Cost: 1 Vitae Dice Pool: Intelligence + Occult + Crochan versus subject’s Resolve + Blood Potency Action: Contested; resistance is reflexive Roll Results Dramatic Failure: Not only are the target’s wounds not rendered more diffcult to heal, one health point of the most severe type of damage the victim has suffered is downgraded by one level of severity. Aggravated damage becomes lethal, lethal damage becomes bashing and bashing damage is healed completely. When downgrading this damage, downgrade the rightmost Health point of the most severe type of damage. Failure: The target’s ability to heal his wounds is unaffected. The character may try again later (though successive attempts against the same target in the same night incur a cumulative –1 penalty; see below). Success: For the remainder of the scene, the target must spend one extra Vitae to heal his wounds. Healing two bashing wounds or one lethal wound costs two Vitae. Aggravated wounds are not normally affected by this power (but see below). Depending on the target’s Blood Potency, he may have to spend the requisite Vitae over multiple rounds to manage even the most basic healing; in that case, healing occurs when all the necessary Vitae is spent. Exceptional Success: Per a success, but the curse lasts until the next sunset. In addition, if the victim spends Vitae toward healing an aggravated wound while under the effects of this power (whether he is the victim of this power on the fi rst or the second night of the healing process), the cost is increased to six Vitae over two nights. The Bron must touch his target in order to inflict this curse (see “Touching an Opponent” on p. 157 of the World of Darkness Rulebook). Suggested Modifiers Modifier Situation +2 Power is turned on a vampire with whom the user has a blood tie (see Vampire: The Requiem, p. 162). +1 Target has tasted the user’s blood in the past night. –1 Target has been the victim of this power earlier in the same night (cumulative; applies whether the earlier use succeeded or failed). ••• Bitter Humours After learning to both slow and quicken the Blood’s healing properties, the Bron learns to twist it, turning his enemy’s own attempts to heal against her. Cost: 1 Vitae, plus see below Dice Pool: Intelligence + Occult + Crochan versus subject’s Resolve + Blood Potency Action: Contested; resistance is reflexive Roll Results Dramatic Failure: The subject is not affected and is immune to any further uses of Bitter Humours for a week. Failure: The character’s player loses or ties the contested roll, and the subject’s ability to heal himself is unimpeded. Success: The character wins the contested roll. For each success the character’s player rolls, she may “twist” one attempt by the subject to heal himself by spending Vitae. As long as the character remains within five miles of the subject, she instinctively knows whenever the subject spends Vitae to heal himself (though she does not know what type of damage the subject is trying to heal). As a reflexive action, the character may spend one Vitae to corrupt the subject’s healing efforts. Instead of healing the damage, the subject instead suffers the same amount of damage. Each expenditure of Vitae on the Bron’s part can corrupt only one Vitae worth of healing, regardless of how many Vitae the subject spends on healing that turn. If the subject spends Vitae as part of an attempt to heal an aggravated wound, he merely loses that Vitae and must spend another on the healing process. For example, Angelica uses Bitter Humours against her rival, Manuel, and succeeds on the contested roll with four successes. After a conflict outside Elysium, Manuel spends one Vitae to heal a point of lethal damage. Angelica is instinctively aware of the attempt and chooses to spend Vitae to thwart Manuel. Manuel loses the Vitae he spent toward healing that point of lethal damage and instead suffers another point of lethal damage. Later that evening, Manuel spends two Vitae to heal four points of bashing damage in a single turn. Angelica is once again aware of this attempted healing, and chooses to spend another Vitae to twist Manuel’s healing attempt. Manuel suffers two points of bashing damage thanks to Angelica’s curse, but heals two points of bashing damage with his second Vitae (as Angelica can twist only one Vitae worth of the subject’s healing per Vitae point she spends). Exceptional Success: The character wins the contested roll with fi ve or more successes. In addition to instinctively knowing when the subject attempts to heal himself with Vitae, the character knows the severity of the damage being healed. In addition, it is possible, though difficult, to cause the subject to suffer aggravated damage with an exceptional success. In order to inflict a point of aggravated damage, the subject must spend all fi ve Vitae to heal the wound during the course of a single night. The subject also must not spend more than one Vitae per turn on the healing process. Finally, the Bron must spend a Vitae of her own to corrupt each expenditure of Vitae (for a total of five Vitae). If all of these conditions are met, the subject suffers a point of aggravated damage instead of healing one. Note that attempting to inflict damage in this fashion is mutually exclusive from spending Vitae to force the subject to lose a Vitae spent toward healing an aggravated wound. The Bron must choose one effect or the other when he spends his Vitae. Bitter Humours works only on Kindred, not on any other creature that has a regenerative or healing ability. As well, this power requires the character to touch her target in order to inflict this curse (see p. 157 of the World of Darkness Rulebook). The target of Bitter Humours suffers under the curse until the following sunset, or until the curse’s power is discharged. Suggested Modifiers Modifier Situation +2 Power is turned on a vampire with whom the user has a blood tie (see Vampire: The Requiem, p. 162). +1 Target has tasted the user’s blood within the past night. –1 Target has been the victim of this power earlier in the same night (cumulative, applies whether the earlier use succeeded or failed). •••• Restoration of the Maimed According to legends, the Grail has the capacity to heal grievous wounds, even regenerating lost limbs or restoring health to those stricken with palsy or disease. Vampires echo this power after a fashion, in that, upon rising for the evening, their bodies always return to their condition at the moment of the Embrace. Through this Crochan power, the Bron is capable of channeling the Blood’s ability to recreate lost muscle, tendon and bone to rebuild lost limbs or heal limbs made useless by sickness. The character infuses her Vitae with this restorative power and drains the requisite amount into a vessel (traditionally a chalice or cauldron, depending on the user’s covenant, but any suitably large container will do). The Bron then immerses the stump of the limb to be restored in the Vitae concoction as the mystic restoration generates new flesh, sinew and bone, recreating the lost limb. Bron Acolytes often set a fire beneath the cauldron to boil the Vitae, but this is not necessary to use the power. Cost: 2 Vitae to restore a hand or foot, 3 Vitae to restore an entire arm or leg. Dice Pool: Intelligence + Medicine + Crochan Action: Extended. (A total of 10 successes are necessary for a hand or foot, 20 for an arm or leg. Each roll represents one hour of mystic ritual and effort.) Roll Results Dramatic Failure: The limb is not regenerated, the Vitae spent is rendered inert and useless and the character may not attempt another use of Restoration of the Maimed to restore that limb for one month. She may use this power to restore other limbs, however, and another Fisher King may attempt to restore the same limb during this month. Failure: The limb is not restored, and the Vitae spent is rendered inert and useless. The character may try again if she wishes. Success: Progress is made toward the restoration of the limb. Exceptional Success: Considerable progress is made toward the restoration of the limb. Restoration of the Maimed can be used to accelerate the innate reversion a Kindred experiences every night or may be used to restore limbs lost permanently, such as pre-Embrace wounds or wounds the character spent a Willpower dot to render permanent. This power may also be used on others, even mortals and those who do not automatically revert to predetermined states. Restoration of the Maimed is notably less effective for mortals and their ilk; whenever this power is used on any character other than a vampire, the resultant limb is cold, clammy and not entirely under its owner’s control. Fingers twitch spasmodically, arms hold themselves at awkward and uncomfortable angles and similar minor, involuntary movements afflict legs and feet restored with this power. In addition to unnerving others, these strange tics cause the subject to suffer a –1 penalty on all Physical dice pools made with the new limb. Should the mortal ever be Embraced, the penalty is removed. Suggested Modifiers Modifier Situation +2 Power is turned on a vampire with whom the user has a blood tie (see Vampire: The Requiem, p. 162). +1 Limb was lost within the last week. –1 Limb was lost more than one year ago (cumulative). –2 Subject is not Kindred. ' ' ••••• Stolen Blood, Stolen Life A common theme in myths about artifacts or individuals with miraculous healing powers is the concept that life cannot be generated spontaneously. To heal one subject, another subject must suffer or die. The Bron exemplify this concept in the Vitae cost of their Discipline, but Bron who have mastered Crochan take it to another level altogether. With the fi nal, most potent power of Crochan, the Bron can literally steal the blood of anyone nearby and use it to heal his own injuries. Cost: 1 Vitae Dice Pool: Intelligence + Occult + Crochan vs. Resolve + Blood Potency Action: Extended and contested. (One–10 successes; each roll represents one turn of stealing blood.) Roll Results Dramatic Failure: No Vitae is stolen, and the subject is immune to further uses of this power for the rest of the night. Failure: No Vitae is stolen. Success: For every success rolled, the target loses one Vitae and the character gains one Vitae. If the subject is an animal, werewolf or some other creature whose Vitae is more or less potent than normal, the character gains more or less Vitae as appropriate. If the subject is not a vampire, the subject suffers a point of lethal damage, just as if the character had fed from her directly. Exceptional Success: Extra successes are their own reward as a more signifi cant amount of Vitae is stolen from the target. To use Stolen Blood, Stolen Life, the Bron must be within five yards of his target and have a clear, unobstructed line of sight to the target. With a simple act of will, the character begins the process of stealing the target’s Vitae. No visible cues occur suggesting the target’s blood is leaving her body and traveling to the character — the transfer is entirely mystical in nature. A Kindred using Aura Perception (see Vampire: The Requiem, p. 120) to read the character’s aura sees bright, crimson streams of light fl owing into the character’s aura, but unless he also reads the victim (who has the same crimson streamers fl owing out of her aura), she receives no indication from whence the strange streamers are originate or what they mean. Vitae stolen in this manner may only be used for healing or for fueling Crochan powers. Note also that using this power to feed doesn’t free the character from any moral obligations resulting from his actions, such as killing a vessel, causing harm and so on. See pp. 181–186 of Vampire: The Requiem for more information on Humanity and Morality. Suggested Modifiers Modifier Situation +2 Power is turned on a vampire with whom the user has a blood tie (see Vampire: The Requiem, p. 162). +1 Target has tasted the user’s blood within the past night. –1 Target has been the victim of this power earlier in the same night (cumulative, applies whether the earlier use succeeded or failed).